The present invention relates to a plate removing apparatus for manually removing a plate mounted on a plate cylinder.
A conventional plate removing apparatus has, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,039, a plate cylinder rotatably supported by a pair of frames opposing each other through a predetermined distance, a cover which is provided in front of the plate cylinder and has an opening for plate exchange and the like, and a plate making unit which is supported to be movable between a position to cover the opening of the cover and a position to open the opening and makes a plate at the position to cover the opening. In the plate removing apparatus having this structure, when the plate is to be removed, the plate making unit is moved to the position to open the opening. The plate released by the plate clamp of the plate cylinder is removed through the opened opening.
In the conventional plate removing apparatus described above, when the plate is to be removed, the front surface of the plate cylinder is opened to be set in the open state. A tool or rag may erroneously enter a printing unit through the opening. When the tool or rag enters the printing unit, not only it scratches or damages the plate cylinder or an ink roller, but also the printing press itself may break down.